All my stands are already up. The worst thing that happen to me was a stupid squirrel got in my back pack hanging on the tree.... I never heard it till he was digging around. I got a buddy who wears ear plugs while walking to his stands. He said it keeps his hanes from being urine stained...lol Sent from my SM-S320VL using Tapatalk
Good reads. I think I'm more likely to get spooked during bow season vs firearm season. Sent from my SM-G950U using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
Its not the mornings that worry's me its' the evenings and the long walk back to the car. Couple years ago a grizzly walked into my shooting lane just as I was packing up and preparing to descend. Every year there are a couple bear or cougar attacks.
I walk by a cell phone tower on my way to my stand and every once in awhile the generator will kick on just as I'm passing by and as many times as it has happened my heart still skips a beat. Sent from my iPad using Bowhunting.com Forums
I was walking in one moring (half moon) I normally don't use a flashlight if there is enough moon light for me not to run into a tree. I hear footsteps with mine. I think it's a deer so I stop. As soon as I stop, the foot steps stop. So now I assume it's MY footsteps echoing off the trees. So I start walking again and again it starts. At this point I'm like...something is following me. I speed up and the footsteps speed up. I stop short...what do i hear but crunch, crunch, cr... I'm seriously like what it the world?! We don't really have big cats here. There have been a few spotted in my area over the last 10 years but they are few and far between. I unsnap my buck knife holster and I hear it scream about 5 feet from me directly ahead. The sound stopped my heart and every hair on my body stands on end. The shriek pierces the quiet darkness with a sound so terrifying you'd think it was a woman screaming bloody murder directly in your face. As my heart made it way back down to my chest, I heard it bounding away. Stupid Bobcat.
I always made fun of my hunting buddy when he would tell me about being followed while heading to/from his stands. About a month ago, we were setting up stands and did a card pull on some cameras we left set up since last season. Yearling black bear and adult black bear (mom most likely) were on the trail cams numerous times. It's not so funny now... Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
We don't have black bear in IL, how do you avoid them during hunts? Walking to and from stands specifically. Sent from my SM-G950U using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
I work my way into some hunting spots along waterways. It never fails early season some turtle decides o dark thirty is the time to jump in...startles me a good bit. Only time I was really concerned was when, what I thought were deer that came in around me in the dark turned out to be a pack of feral dogs...
I haven't got that exactly figured out yet!! First time we have seen bears on the property. I'm open to any suggestions... Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I have a lot of black bears in my area, for the most part they avoid you and you never see them. But it can be scary when they get curious and decide check you out. I was squirrel hunting with my .22 one evening and I found a great spot for a tree stand, after clearing the spot and sitting under the tree for about 10 mins I got up and instantly heard some movement to my left. About 15 yards away was a large black bear just watching me, He had snuck right up on me while I was clearing that stand spot.
Black bears are a known quantity around here and we all treat them pretty much like a large, curious, potentially dangerous dog. To a grizzly, however, we're all just meat. Fall hunt rule of thumb: If you can't get your kill out of the bush in an hour or two best let it walk.
